Colonie, NY Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

New York, unlike Florida, Texas, or California, has not enacted a comprehensive impact-fee enabling statute. The leading New York Court of Appeals decision, Albany Area Builders Ass'n v. Town of Guilderland, 74 N.Y.2d 372 (1989), struck down a Guilderland (Albany County) transportation impact fee for lack of statutory authority and held that towns cannot impose general impact fees absent specific legislative authorization — a holding directly applicable to neighboring Colonie. Cities and towns derive their general powers from the NY Municipal Home Rule Law and planning powers from Town Law Article 16 but have no specific impact-fee authorization equivalent to California's Mitigation Fee Act (Gov. Code §66000) or Florida's Impact Fee Act (Fla. Stat. §163.31801). Colonie therefore relies on permit fees and utility connection fees rather than impact fees to recover infrastructure costs. Water connection fees are administered by Latham Water District and other Town water districts; sewer connection fees are administered by the Albany County Sewer District for properties within the county system. An ADU with separate service typically pays a connection fee plus any meter installation cost. If the ADU shares an existing meter and service line with the principal dwelling, connection fees may not apply. School districts (North Colonie, South Colonie, Shaker, Menands) under NY Education Law lack impact-fee authority. Recreation fees-in-lieu and parkland dedication may apply to subdivisions under NY Town Law §277(4) but generally not to single-lot infill ADUs. Net result for a Colonie ADU applicant: zoning permit fee, building permit fee, and water/sewer connection fees if separate service is established.